RED4335 Teaching Reading in Content Areas Spring 2012 Danielle Wright Florida State University

Running Record Assessment Passage: The Free Press: Freedom of Information Taken from FCAT Reading Released Test Book (2006). Support for an entirely free press has never been unanimous in the United States, however. At times the media seem to cross the bounds of fairness or decency. Should a magazine be allowed to print lies? Should a book be allowed to ruin someones reputation? Should television, which exerts a powerful influence over young people, be allowed to show any program it chooses? Must the government sit back idly when a newspaper spills secrets that are vital to the national security? Questions such as these have forced many people to debate the limits of freedom of the press. What is to be done when the press acts irresponsibly? Even Thomas Jefferson, a champion of freedom of the press, had little tolerance for newspapers that printed what he thought was malicious criticism. (Evans, 32-33) Total Number of Words: 131 Number of Errors: 5 Kinds of Errors: Semantic: 0; Syntactic: 1; Graphophonic: 4 Number of Self-Corrections: 3 Phonemic Awareness: Number Correct: 3 That - /th/ /a/ /t/ Sit - /s/ /i/ /t Of - /o/ /v/

Phonics Ability: Kristen1 was good at decoding words. She was able to successfully decode all words given to test phonemic awareness, and when faced with familiar words, she was able to sound out most words by applied rules of phonics. One word she did struggle with was unanimous (mispronounced un/an/i/mous). She followed the general rule for short vowels, pronouncing a short /u/ sound because it is followed by a consonant, but failed to realize she was not correctly segmenting the word. Following the assessment, I asked her to pronounce the word again and she continued to have difficulty. She provided me with the following rationale for her choice of pronunciation: /un/ is a prefix, like in unreal and undone. I encouraged her to break the word down by syllable, and she realized that she was incorrectly segmenting the word. She admitted that she sometimes struggled with syllabic breakdowns of unfamiliar words. Fluency: Overall, Kristens fluency was text appropriate. Her reading was not choppy or and she used inflection to pose the authors questions aloud, understanding the social commentary the author of the passage was using through rhetorical devices. She was not focused on decoding individual words, and this assisted with her overall fluidity and comprehension in the text. However, her tempo while reading led to some graphophonic errors and while this did detract from the meaning of individual sentences, it did not hinder her overall understanding of the passage. Vocabulary: Word Ahabs Definition Word Definition

Participants name has been changed to ensure anonymity

Malicious

Mean; cruel

Having or showing a desire to cause harm to someone

Unanimous

As one, everyone agrees to it

Being of one mind: agreeing Shiftless, lazy

Idly

To ignore and not pay attention

Vital

Very important

Of the utmost importance

Kristen was able to define three out of the four vocabulary words correctly, and did not struggle with more than one word and I have listed her responses above, as well as the actual definition. She looked back at the passage to define the words idly and unanimous (a word she had trouble pronouncing, to which she had applied the prefix definition for un to previously). She was able to use context clues to decipher the meaning for unanimous (see above). Her definition of idly was incorrect, but was an understandable attempt given the context of the sentence and passage, and did not obscure the meaning of the text: Must the government sit back idly when a newspaper spills secrets that are vital to national security? When asked to interchange the word ignore from her definition with idly she admitted it did not make sense, but was unable to provide an alternate definition. Overall, Kristen was very successful with the vocabulary portion of this assessment, using context clues to construct definitions for unfamiliar words. Comprehension: (4) comprehends text and can make inferences about text

Kristen demonstrated understanding of the passage, and was able to make inferences about the text. She recognized that the author was providing social commentary on the role of the media within American society, and question possible reactions the founding fathers would have if they were alive today I dont think they knew that all this absolute freedom would be used in bad taste. They wanted us to have information, but did not know that not all press is good press. However, she did not apply that inference to any current events that would have furthered her understanding of the authors purpose. Overall Assessment Rating: Excellent Kristen did extremely well on this assessment. She was able to read with fluency, and errors she made due to her speed did not hinder her ability to comprehend the passage. Her ability to use context clues to identify meaning of unfamiliar vocabulary was generally very accurate. She gave a thoughtful and thorough summary of the passage, and drew from examples within the text (Thomas Jefferson) to make inferences about the authors purpose and intent. Teaching: Kristen seems to have difficulty decoding unfamiliar words that contain four or more syllables. I would recommend that she focus on vocabulary, and when using context clues, insert a perceived synonym of the vocabulary word and decide whether the sentence makes sense. I would also suggest she look closely at the words used in the sentence (ex. sit back idly) and use these clues to construct meaning. When I asked her what words came to mind when I said sit back she said relax, lazy, and uninvolved. From this, she eventually was able to guess that idly meant lazy, but only after I provided a close reading of the sentence.

I would encourage several strategies suggested by Chapman and King to improve Kristens Vocabulary. I would provide weekly vocabulary words, and provide multi-faceted ways for students to discover their meanings. One strategy I would use to strengthen all students vocabulary would be to provide each student with a word, and allow them to choose the method in which they will convey the meaning to the class (Ex: Design a banner, divide the word into syllables and chant/tap the syllables. Write an ad to sell the word, role-play the meaning, etc.) This word choice board would allow students to discover new words and share their understanding with their peers in an engaging and effective manner. The outdated method of looking up the definition and using it in a sentence is not a horrible option, but for students in the technology age, this method will only discourage students from developing an interest and love for reading. I would also spend time strengthening Kristens proficiency with context clues, using Kanes Cues to Context Clues to provide her with the right tools to assign meaning to words in their context. One thing I noticed was that Kristens understanding of the text would have been deepened by an application to something relevant to her life. In a classroom setting, I would link this passage to a classroom lesson in which students would find a current event that addressed the power of the media, and then have a classroom debate about freedom of the press.

Reading Interest Survey Name: Kristen Date: 4/6/12 Fill in the blanks. 1. What words pop into your mind when you think of reading a book? Boring, whats the point if there may be a movie? Do I have to? 2. Do you read at home? Yes How often? 3-4 times a week (Homework). 3. Wheres your favorite place to read at home? Couch at school? library 4. How do you find books you love to read? I look at the cover and the title and decide if I think the picture and the title sound interesting. 5. Besides books, what other types of materials do you read? I read magazines and cooking materials. Why do you enjoy these? They are informational and they are about things that are interesting to me. 6. Do you own a library card? No How often do you visit the library? Every other day (school)

What do you do at the library (internet, check out books, read magazines, etc.)? A.R test and mostly read or check books out. Complete these sentences. 7. My favorite author is James Patterson 8. The best book I read is Miss Peregrines Home for Peculiar Children 9. The best book someone read to me is Chasing Lincolns Killer 10. The topics I enjoy reading about are celebrity gossip, new recipes or techniques, dramas. 11. The things that Im great at as a reader are reading out loud with expression 12. Things I need to work on to improve my reading are sounding words out 13. I use these strategies as I read Context clues 14. I enjoy talking about books because I can explain why I like them 15. I enjoy responding to books in my journal because I dont have a journal. 16. I can choose books that I read for enjoyment because interesting cover, authors I know.

<Taken from http://www.lkdsb.net/program/elementary/intermediate/di/files/stu3.pdf>

Letter to Parents/Guardians Dear parent/guardian, In order to provide students with the necessary tools for success, we assess reading quarterly to document progress, and identify areas that may need additional support. Using a Running Record assessment as well as a literacy survey, I evaluated Kristens proficiency in the reading process, focusing on the five pillars of reading (phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension). She did very well in the phonics component of the assessment. When asked, she was able to segment words correctly, and this greatly increased her ability to sound out unfamiliar words. She did have some difficulty decoding longer words, and she expressed that she struggles breaking larger words into syllables. It is often necessary to review phonics strategies with students as words become increasingly complex. We will be devote class time to identifying the six types of syllables as a class, practicing strategies for counting syllables of longer, more complex words. She also demonstrated strength in fluency, doing well on this portion of the assessment. She read with fluidity, using intonation and inflection when appropriate to convey the authors message, and this assisted her comprehension of the text. At times, she seemed to equate speed to success, reading very quickly, and this led to some errors.

Following the assessment we discussed the potential for mistakes resulting from reading too fast and I would suggest having Kristen read aloud at home whenever possible, emphasizing the importance of maintaining a steady tempo. Overall, Kristen did well on the vocabulary component of the assessment. She accurately defined three out of four words, and demonstrated her ability to use context clues to understand unfamiliar words. Because I feel vocabulary is one of the most crucial components in the reading process, I intend to devote extra class time to strengthening students vocabulary through fun and engaging activities. I will be sending home information regarding our upcoming word study next week. Kristen excelled when asked to share her understanding of the passage. By summarizing, identifying the authors purpose, and drawing inferences from the passage, Kristen demonstrated that she comprehended the text. During cross-curricular activities and classroom discussion, we will be focusing as a class on forming connections (text-toself, text-to-text, text-to-world), deepening students understanding of assigned reading by making it relevant to students lives. I suggest that all parents/guardians try to discuss these connections with students whenever possible, as it adds a level of authenticity and relevance needed for higher level thinking to occur. Please remember that the results of these assessments are simply to help provide students with the specific instruction and support they may need to become eager, fluent readers. If you have any questions or concerns regarding your students progress, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely, Ms. Wright

References Chapman, C., & King, R. (2009). Differentiated Instructional Strategies for Reading in the Content Areas. (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, California: Corwin. Evans, E. (2006). The Free Press: Freedom of Information. FCAT Reading Released Booklet. Retrieved April 4, 2012, from http://Evans, E. (2006). The free press: Freedom of information. Retrieved from http://fcat.fldoe.org/pdf/releasepdf/06/FL06_Rel_G9R_TB_Cwf001.pdf